Mayor speaks out on cornerstone controversy in Carbondale - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

Mayor speaks out on cornerstone controversy in Carbondale

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Carly O'Keefe - bio | email
It's not what the plaque says, but it's where it's at that's causing problems. It's not what the plaque says, but it's where it's at that's causing problems.
The new plaque was placed right on top of the building's cornerstone that marked the year the building was constructed. The new plaque was placed right on top of the building's cornerstone that marked the year the building was constructed.
Mayor Joel Fritzler says there are plenty of other plaques honoring the former mayor throughout Carbondale. Mayor Joel Fritzler says there are plenty of other plaques honoring the former mayor throughout Carbondale.
"I think we would have advised him it should go on the other side of the entryway," said Jane Adams, city council member. "I think we would have advised him it should go on the other side of the entryway," said Jane Adams, city council member.

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CARBONDALE, IL (KFVS) -

A plaque on the Carbondale Police Department building is stirring up controversy on the city council.

It's not what the plaque says, but it's where it's at that's causing problems.

It's a plaque on the front of the new public safety center that dedicates the building to fallen police officer Leonard Sizemore who was killed in the line of duty.

The new plaque was placed right on top of the building's cornerstone that marked the year the building was constructed and had former mayor Brad Cole's name etched into it.

Council members say the current mayor, Joel Fritzler, opted to cover the cornerstone with the new plaque. Some say it was an odd choice to make, especially without the council's input.

"I think we would have advised him it should go on the other side of the entryway," said Jane Adams, city council member. "(It) seems like a good thing to do, but cornerstones are memorials people look to for centuries to come."

There's no word on whether that plaque can be relocated, or if the cornerstone has been damaged irreparably.

Councilman Don Monte says he wouldn't have supported putting Mayor Cole's name on the cornerstone in the first place, but thinks since it was there it shouldn't have been covered up.

Mayor Fritzler says there wasn't really anything historic about the cornerstone. He says it just had a date and Mayor Brad Cole's name on it. Fritzler tells Heartland News he felt a plaque honoring a fallen Carbondale Police officer deserved a more prominent position than the former mayor's name.

Fritzler also says there are plenty of other plaques honoring the former mayor throughout Carbondale.

"There are at least six other plaques with his name on it. Friendship Plaza, there's a large one in the lobby of the Public Safety Center as you walk in, Town Square Pavilion, two inside city hall, one on the first floor, one on the second, so plenty of plaques with his name on it."

Fritzler says he has not gotten much backlash for covering over the former mayor's cornerstone. He says most of what he's heard from the public has been supportive of honoring the fallen officer and other men and women who've worn the uniform to serve the community.

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